They arrived on June 3. They came from as far away as the Pacific Northwest and as close as the other side of Tampa Bay. There are 32 of them; 16 writers, eight photographers and eight designers.
They're all journalists. Young ones. Most of them are fresh out of college.
For the next six weeks, they will undergo a program at the Poynter Institute that some past participants have likened to boot camp. In addition to taking classes, they will break into eight teams, fan out across St. Petersburg and start reporting. Beginning the week of June 10, they will start publishing their stories.
They will work on eight geographic beats. You can see them listed at left. Click here to learn more about the beats (and the teams of journalists that will be working them):
Southeast,
East of 34th,
West of 34th,
Gulfport,
Northeast,
Maggoire,
The Point,
The Beach.
(And remember, come mid-July, most of these talented young journalists will be looking for work.)